Closure for bottles, jars, and other containers



Ju'ne 21, 1932.

H. D. JACKSON ET AL CLOSURE FOR BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER CONTAINERS 1 I IHIIHHHHIHIHII Filed March 26. 1950 nc z Patented June 21, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HERBERT DAVID JACKSON AND FRANK WHITE, OF WALSALL, STAFFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND.

CLOSURE FOR BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER CONTAINERS Application filed March 26, 1930, Serial No. 439,121, and in Great Britain March 26, 1929.

This invention relates to a new or improved closure for bottles, j ars and other containers, and has for its object to provide a closure which when first applied makes a positive seal both against leakage of the contents of the vessel and against unauthorized removal of the closure.

Any attempt to remove the closure results in the fracture or destruction of the locking seal so that the attempt is at once obvious and theft or substitution of the contents of the bottle or other container is positively prevented.

At the same time the eificiency of the closure for retaining the contents is not impaired so that after the closure has been removed by an authorized person it can be repeatedly removed and replaced during the consumption of the contents of the container.

A further object is to provide a closure for this purpose which can readily be employed for glass bottles or other vessels without necessitating the moulding of accurately shaped and spaced projections or recesses in the neck of the vessel.

According to our invention a cap or the like, which may have a screw, bayonet-catch, or like connection with the neck of a bottle, jar, or other container, carries a resilient tongue member projecting through an opening in the cap into engagement with a stop on the neck of the container.

The direction of projection of the tongue is such that in the application of the cap to the container it can ride freely over the stop or projection, but on any reverse movement the free end of the tongue member engages against the stop and the tongue member will be destroyed or broken off.

in The stop may conveniently be the end of the screw-thread or of one of the bayonet grooves or projections with which the cap normally engages, these being moulded on the neck in the case of glass vessels. As it is dilficult to ensure accuracy of the grooves on the glass with which projections on the cap engage in the case of a bayonet-catch type of fastening, the projections on the cap may be made after the cap has been applied and while it is held under pressure against the neck of the vessel.

To avoid the necessity for moulding accurately shaped and spaced projections or recesses in the neck of a glass vessel the cap and the resilient tongue carried by it may engage with atubular sleeve which ispermanently secured on the neck of a bottle or the like as for example by rolling in its lower edge below an annular rib or shoulder on the neck, the sleeve being suitably keyed against rotation on the neck.

Some practical forms of our invention as applied to closures for bottles are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bottle neck fitted with a sealing cap in accordance with our invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the bottle neck with the cap removed.

Figures Sand 4: are side elevations of the cap with theresilient tongue respectively in place and broken off.

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 1. a 4 Figure 6 is a perspective View of a modified form of cap.

s Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified construction employing a separate sleeve fixed upon the bottle neck, the cap being shown before application. j

,Figure 8 is a similar View showing the cap applied. 1

In the construction illustrated in Figures 1 to 5a is a flanged sheet metal cap provided with a cork or other seating washer against its end face. On one side of the cap is a rectangular opening I) at one end of which is an outwardly pressed portion or boss 0. A short length'of curved resilient steel or other metal strip d is secured to the cap at one side of the opening I) by punching a hole in the cap through a hole 6 in the strip so that the metal from the hole is clinched over on the outside of the strip and retains the strip in place. The other end of the strip (Z, which will hereinafter be referred to as the tongue member, extends through the opening 6 on the inside of the cap asshown in Figure 5. The bottle ion neck f is formed with a peripheral groove 9 and an end flange h in which are formed two opposed slots leading into the groove g, one side of each slot being formed with a flat radial face j and the other side being cut away to form an inclined face for engagement by projections on the cap in the usual way.

The cap is adapted to be fitted over the bottle neck with the free end of the tongue member abutting against one of the flat faces. j as shown in Figure 5. The bottle is then placed in any suitable machine which appllies end pressure to the cap to hold it tig tly against the bottle neck, and. opposed portions. of the free edge of the cap are pressed in as shown at Z to form projections which engage under the shoulder h so that the bottle is tightly sealed. Any form of capping inachi'ne is suitable for this operation so long as it hasmea-ns for applying end pressure-to the cap and for simultaneously pressing inpor tions of the cap flange. Y I

To open the bottle the cap is turned in an anti-clockwise direction, but immediately any such movement is commenced the free end of the tongue member (Z is forced against the face j so that end pressureisapplied to it and the securing of the tongue member to the cap is broken so that the tongue member flies off and cannot be replaced. The cap can now be turned until the projections Z come opposite the slots in the shoulderk whereupon the cap can be lifted off. If all the contents of the bottle are not used the cap can be replaced, and the projections Z riding down the inclined faces is will bring the cap again into airtight contact with the bottle neck to retain. and preserve the contents of the bottle;

Where it is possible to obtain standardization of the grooves and shoulders odthebottle necks the projections on. the cap may? be formedin the cap in the course of manufacture as shown at m in Figure 6.- The cap is then applied in the same way as an; ordinary cap having a bayonet-catch connection with a bottle neck. I

In the modified constructionillustrated in Figures? and 8 the cap engages not wit-lithe bottle neck but with a sleeve which is permanently secured in place upon a. bottle neck. Thecap is substantially thesame as already described, two opposed projections n being pressed in the sides to co-operate with grooves or slots in the sleeve. The sleeve 10 is of tubular form to fit over a collar or shoulder of substantial depth against which its inturned" upper: edge g seats and above which are formed two opposed projections 1' on the neck which enter notches in the ed e 9 and hold the sleeve against rotation. The sleeve isprovided with opposed bayonet slots 8 for engagement by the projections n on the cap, and with a gap or opening t for engagement by the spr ngtongue."

i To fit this" device to a bottle the capand sleeve are first assembled together in their normal engaged position and the assembly is placed upon the bottle neck. End pressure is then applied to the cap and the free lower edge of the sleeve is rolled in as shown at a under the lower edge of the shoulder on the bottleneck so. that the bottlle is effectively sealed. The sleeve remains a fixture on the bottle neck but the cap can be removed in the ordinary way after breaking off the tongue member, and the cap can be replaced as often as desired to. preserve. thecontents of the bottle.

' We claim: v v a A closure for bottles, jars, and other containers comprising a. flanged cap having an opening therein, projections on said cap, means on the neck of the container with which said projections; cooperate to retain thecap in sealing engagementwith the neck, a. resilient tongue member of; which one end is;

frangibly secured to the cap and the other end projectsthroughsaid opening, and a; stop on the neck against which said tongue abuts forapurpose specified;

In testimony whereof we aflix oursignatures. V I I HERBERT DAVID J ACKSON'. ERANKWHITE. 

